Colon complaint forces Hathaway out of Silva fight

British welterweight John Hathaway has been forced out of his upcoming fight with Erick Silva in Brazil due to the recurrence of a colon complaint.

Hathaway is suffering from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease which stops him training. He previously suffered a long lay-off with the same disease, before returning with back-to-back wins over Pascal Krauss and John Maguire.

Hathaway took to Twitter to announce his withdrawal from the bout, which was set to take place on June 8 in South America.

He said: "As some of you know already I am unable to fight Erick Silva in Brazil on 8th June, this is because I have been suffering with a condition called ulcerative colitis.

"It has been making it impossible for me to train properly to fight. I am currently undergoing medical treatment to combat it and hope to back into full training soon although I can't say when exactly I will be fit to fight again.

"Once again I'd like to thank you guys for your support and nobody is more upset about this than I am, I am truly gutted and wanted this fight badly. I'd also like to apologise to Erick Silva and also the UFC too, I will be back soon!"

Hathaway has been replaced by American Jason High who was due to face Ildemar Alcantara on the same card.